Terps Add Three Signees for 2014-15 season

Maryland Athletics

11-13-2013

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Three gymnasts signed National Letters of Intent for the University of Maryland gymnastics team, head coach Brett Nelligan, announced Wednesday. Dominiquea Trotter, Evelyn Nee and Abigail Epperson will compete in the 2014-15 season for the Terps.

Nelligan looks forward to the additions and what the girls can bring to the team. "We’re excited to welcome three new GymTerps to the Maryland family,” he said. “They are not only great gymnasts, but great people who fit the 'Maryland Way.’”

A native of Port Monmouth, N.J., Trotter competes for Monmouth Gymnastics. In 2013, she finished third all-around at the New Jersey state meet and second on vault at regionals, which helped her qualify to the Junior Olympic National Invitational Tournament.

In 2012, she finished third at level 10 states and second on vault at regionals. In 2011, Trotter placed second on floor and third on vault at states for level 10. In 2009, she qualified to junior pre-elite and competed at the U.S. Challenge in Des Moines, Iowa.

With Trotter’s impressive resume, Nelligan is confident in the power she will bring to a strong Maryland team, especially on vault and floor where she has continuously excelled. “Dominiquea is a power athlete. Her gymnastics is explosive, she is great on all four events and can really make an immediate impact for the Terps, especially on vault and floor.”

A competitor for Apollo Gymnastics, Nee, too, brings to Maryland her own list of gymnastics accomplishments. The Vienna, Va., native finished fourth on beam and seventh on bars at the 2013 Virginia state meet.

At the Manhattan Classic, Nee earned first on beam as well as first all-around. In 2012, she won first in the all-around and on vault at the AZ Grand, Sportsplex Team and Dave Brown classics. She also finished second on vault, third on beam and fifth in the all-around at the Virginia state meet; and second on beam and fifth in the all-around at the Region 7 championships. Finishing off a successful year, Nee competed at the 2012 Junior Olympic National Championships.

With Nee’s all-around success, Nelligan sees true potential and strength. “Evelyn is solid all the way around, there are no weaknesses in her routines. Ev has all-around ability and her skills look graceful and effortless.”

Rounding out the signees from Allen, Texas, is Epperson, who competes for Metroplex Gymnastics. She finished fifth in the all-around and fourth on vault, bars and floor at the 2013 Texas State Championships. She also earned second on vault, bars, and floor and in the all-around at the NEG Tiger Classic. She placed third all-around and second on floor at the Metroplex Challenge. At the WOGA Classic, she finished fifth all-around. She finished second on floor and all-around at the Kurt Thomas Invitational. This year has also brought her academic success as Allen High School granted her the 2013 Eagle Scholar award for academic achievement.

In 2012, Epperson finished fifth on vault and sixth on bars at the Houston National Invitational and second on vault, beam and floor at the Level 10 Texas State Championships. At Level 10 Regionals in Oklahoma, she finished seventh in the all-around and on bars, which qualified her to Junior Olympic Nationals in Hampton, Va. At nationals, she finished 10th on bars. Also in 2012, she won silver on beam at the Space City Classic and fourth on bars and beam at the Texas Prime meet.

With Epperson’s strong credentials, Nelligan looks forward to the exciting impact she can have on the team. “Similar to Nee, Abbie Epperson is a talented and dynamic all-around gymnast,” he said. “She possesses the rare combination of explosive power needed for vault and floor with the technique and grace desired on bars and beam."

The signees will not compete until next season, but this year’s Terps start the 2013-14 campaign on Dec. 12 with the Red vs. Black intrasquad meet at 7 p.m. in Comcast Center.